Louisa Mitchell pointed out that fewer mature women are sustaining places in the workforce. Assuming the research findings to which she referred are valid, further questions need to be asked. Precisely because of their personal life experience, women in the 40 to 60 age range might actively be sought for jobs that have a high level of social responsibility. However, until there are changes to traditional family life in Hong Kong, some women in this age group may choose not to take such employment, at least for a while.

If a new survey by an international accounting group is correct, half (51 per cent) of senior management jobs in mainland companies are now held by women. This places the mainland ahead of Hong Kong, other Asian economies and such Western countries as the United States and Britain, according to the report by Grant Thornton International, which surveyed chief executives and chairmen of 6,627 companies in all industry sectors around the world.

Zheng Churan, a women's rights activist in Guangzhou, said many female graduates had complained to her about the many application letters they sent out and the few responses they received, while many less-qualified male classmates easily found jobs.

These statistics may surprise you. On average, only between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of women-owned businesses in the developing world have access to commercial bank loans, and women-owned businesses account for only 3 per cent of venture capital investments globally.

Terry Chan Wai-nok drew satisfaction from his work as a school administrator and enjoyed socialising with colleagues. But after his daughter, Tin-ching, was born last year, the 29-year-old began to rethink his role.

In the 1980s, Norway required that 40 per cent of public committee members should be female. It passed a law in the past decade requiring women to make up 40 per cent of directors of big listed companies.